Chapter 3, Vibhuti Pada, The Powers of Yoga. Sutras 1 to 3

This chapter describes the capacity of the mind which can achieve a state free from distractions. Such a mind can probe deeply into objects and concepts into dimensions previously unknown. This knowledge, or power, can become a source of distraction and can prevent a person from reaching the highest state of being. When we put our whole heart and soul into achieving a goal on our path, gratifying rewards and results incidentally come our way. We can easily become so enamored of what we have accidentally achieved that we mistake it for the goal itself. These are the powers that yoga is said to bestow on a serious practitioner, but they are not to be confused with the true state of yoga.Imagine a young person who wants to be a great actor, a worthwhile goal. On the way he acquires fame, and if he is not steadfast in his purpose, he makes fame alone his new goal. The siddhi, or power, of renown has beguiled him and swallowed him up. In this example, the young man has let himself be side-tracked, has substituted an agreeable and merited by-product of his efforts for the real goal. At best his progress is stopped, at worst he is consumed and illusion has displaced reality.

Verses 1 to 3 Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi – the last three rungs on the ladder of yoga.

Y.S. III.1 Desa bandhah cittasya dharana
Desa - place
bandhah - bound
cittasya - of the mind, consciousness
dharana - concentrationFixing the consciousness on one point or region is concentration.

Y.S. III.2 Tatra pratyaya ekatanara dhyanam
Tatra - there, then
pratyaya - idea, concept
ekatanata - one continuous flow
dhyanam - meditation

A steady, continuous flow of attention directed towards the same point or region is meditation.

Y.S. III.3 Tadeva arthamatranirbhasath svarupasunyam iva samadih
Tad - that, hence
eva - the same, actually
artha - object
matra - alone, only
nirbhasa - luminous, shining forth
svarupa - own naturesunyam - empty, devoid ofiva - as if, like
samadih - state of enlightenment

Samadhi is when one loses themselves completely and exists only within this point of focus.

To get to these last stages of yoga, you kind of have to start at the beginning. In order to have peace of mind, your conscience has to be free of guilt and worry. The yamas are practices for how to treat others: non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, moderation and non-hoarding. The niymas describe practices for yourself: cleanliness, contentment, effort, self-study and surrender. Asana is the third limb and helps our bodies to be strong and limber, enabling us to sit comfortably. Pranayama is the practice of breath control to help us learn to control our energy , which effects our mental state. Pratyhara is the next stage. It means the withdrawal of the senses. This means that we can sit still and not fidget or keep jumping up to do things. If we can sit still, we might be able to concentrate. If we can concentrate, dharana, we might be able to meditate, dhyana. If we are able to meditate, we might be able to reach the final and highest goal of yoga: samadhi, freedom from disturbance of any sort at any time.

Yoga Sutras 1.25 – 1.28 The Sutras on Objective Enlightment

Y.S. 1.25 Tatra nitratisayam sarvajna bijam
tatra - there in (God)
niratisayam - unrivalledsarvajna - all knowledge
bijam - seed, an origin In that consciousness there is the seed of all unsurpassed knowledge.

In the previous sutra I used the illustration of a circle drawn on a piece of paper. The circle represents the finite. This is also a representation of us, a single person, drawn out of the infinite that surrounds us. In order for us to be finite, and each one of us different, there must be an infinite around us. In this infinity (god, or supreme consciousness) there is infinte time, space and knowledge.

Y.S. 1.26 Sa esa purvesam api guruh kalena anavacchedat
sa - that
esa - Purusha or God
purvesam - first, foremsot
api - also
guruh - master, teacher
kalena - time
anavacchedat - unbounded, unlimited
In the very beginning there were also teachers since truth is not limited by time.

Y.S. 1.27 Tasya vacakah pranavah
tasya -Him
vacakah - signifying
pranavah - the sacred syllable AUM
Of this, we refer to the entire experience as AUM. (pranavah translates literally to humming)
This refers to the practice of chanting.

Y.S. 1.28 Taj japa tadhartha bhavanam
taj - that
japah - muttering in an undertone, whispering, repeating
tadarthabhavanam - its aim, purpose, identification Repetitive chanting of the Name will lead to a deeper meaning.
When you listen to “yoga music” you are listening to songs that are really chants extolling the virtues of god, by using the various names for god: Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, Ganesha, Saraswati, Kali, Durga, etc… Krishna Das, one of the most well known kirtan singers, began as a devotee in India, sitting at his guru’s feet chanting the holy name, trying to reach enlightenment.

In the chant “Om Namah Shivaya” The Om is that humming. Everything is contained in that Om as it is said to vibrate inside of us tuning us to the same vibration of the universe, infinite or god. The word Namah means I bow to. It comes from the same route as Namaste. Shiva is one of the names of god, but the “ya” on the end is reflexive, turning it back into yourself. So, Shivaya refers to that aspect of god, Shiva, the infinite, that resides inside of you.

While many people make pilgrimages to holy lands and special teachers, the real journey is into the inner self. To touch that divine spark inside of your own Self.

"We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." – T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding

A scientific note about Om:*

“It is recently reported that the Earth undergoes free oscillations with a period of between 150 and 500 seconds, as determined from an analysis of seismic data. The most probable force driving this bell-like ringing of the Earth arises from variations in atmospheric pressure alternately pressing inward and outward on the Earth’s surface. Note that though we speak of this ringing of the Earth as a “sound” it is at far too low a frequency (2-7 millihertz) to be heard by the middle ear, which has a low frequency cut-off of 20 hertz. In several experiments people do report “shivers down their spines” when exposed to sound waves below the 20-hertz cut-off; however, it is not clear that the sensations involve the ears. Is it possible that these two scientific discoveries have anything to do with the sound of the universe as reported in the yoga texts as the all-permeating “Om” when in deeply meditative states?

For those of you who are interested in the texts I have been using, I base my commentary on The Yoga Sutras from a combination of several texts and one app:
The Heart of Yoga by T.K.V. Desikachar
Light on The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by B.K.S. Iyengar
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Edwin F. Bryant
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Swami Satchidananda
And an app on the Yoga Sutras developed by Daniel Levine

*A Handbook for Yogasana Teachers: The Incorporation of Neuroscience, Physiology and Anatomy into the Practice. Mel Robin

The Yoga Sutras on The Architecture of the Mind

The Architecture of the Mind

These are the five kinds of thought forms, or vrttis,  that we must be aware of and be able to see them for what they are in order to be able to find inner peace.  Knowing this, the next question is:  How do we recognize these vrttis?  We need to recognize what they are before we can be able to control them.   Otherwise our thoughts take on the form of the world around us, harden like clay, and you presume that they are you.

The five thought forms are:

Y.S. I.6  Pramana viparyaya vikalpa nidra smrtayah
The five activities are right knowledge, misconception, imagination, deep sleep and memory.

These five activities of the mind are in action in every moment and all at the same time.  For example, the thought of “home” will be perceived in shades of its actuality (pramana), its incorrect assumption of permanence (viparyaya), our fantasies of its future (vikalpa), the memories we’ve had within it (smrtayah) and the void of its non-existence (nidra).  Knowing that our thoughts can be colored by these five characteristics can help us identify true perception (pramana) among the others.  The goal is not necessarily to see the truth exclusively, but to be able to distinguish it.

For those of you who are interested in the texts I have been using, I base my commentary on The Yoga Sutras from a combination of several texts and one app:

The Heart of Yoga by T.K.V. Desikachar
Light on The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by B.K.S. Iyengar
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Edwin F. Bryant
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Swami Satchidananda
And an app on the Yoga Sutras developed by Daniel Levine